Jack in the Lab
by YT1
Summary: A Dexter's Lab/Samurai Jack crossover - yes, you heard right. I mean, SOMEONE had to write one! :P


Jack in the Lab

A _Dexter's Laboratory_/_Samurai Jack_ crossover by YT

Before we continue, let me just say: you _knew_ this was going to happen eventually.

Both _Dexter's Laboratory_ and _Samurai Jack_ were created by Gennedy Tartakovsky, and they air on Cartoon Network.  I use them without permission but with a lot of respect and no intention of making money or anything.  So please be understanding and don't sue me.  If you want to reproduce this story as a whole or in part, give credit where credit is due.

And now, the story…

~***~

A girl's blond, pigtailed head peered around the corner.  Her eyes looked to the left, then to the right.  All clear.  Her brother was nowhere to be found.

            She skipped up to the control panel of Dexter's newest invention and regarded the array of lights, buttons, levers and screens with a great deal of curiosity.

            "Oooh, pretty buttons," she observed.  She pressed one and was rewarded with an electronic chirp.  A grin spread over her face – she began pushing buttons, throwing switches, trying to play a symphony of electronic noise.

            She didn't see the "_Warning!  Overload Error!"_ message flashing on one of the screens.  If she had, she wouldn't have cared anyway.

~***~

            Jack dodged the throwing star and slashed his katana above his head, halving the robot ninja who was trying to pounce on him.  He ducked as another one threw a punch at him, delivered a good kick to its torso with his foot.  It crashed into the robot behind it, and both shattered against the wall.

            He had destroyed many already, but there were many more, and they were very fast.  He wasn't sure he'd be able to keep this up much longer.

            He didn't have to.  There was a flash of bright light and a loud _bzzzap!_ and…

…he found himself standing on a metal dais in another place.  It was large, full of machines blinking and beeping as they performed their unknown tasks.  He smelled smoke and scorched metal.

He turned around cautiously, his sword at the ready.  One of the machines, he saw, had been badly damaged – wires and tubes and plating and other unidentifiable things were hanging out its sides.  Bits of it were sparking, and a cloud of smoke was rising from it with a hiss.

            There was a girl standing on the other side of it, a skinny girl in a ridiculous pink outfit, her bright blond hair in pigtails.  She was staring at him.     

            Jack perceived that he was in no danger here, and he sheathed his sword.  He bowed to the girl.  "Excuse me, young lady.  Can you please tell me where I am?"

            The blond girl looked him up and down, slowly.  Then she grinned the grin of the idiotically perky.  "Hi.  I'm DeeDee.  You're in my brother Dexter's laboratory.  What's your name?"

            Somehow he could sense that this girl was trouble.  "I am called Jack," he said.

            "Nice to meet you," DeeDee replied.  She raised an eyebrow.  "Why are you wearing a dress?"

            Before Jack could answer, he heard another voice, strangely accented, coming closer and closer.  "What happened?  DeeDee, is that you?  What are you doing in…"

            A small red-haired boy rounded the corner and skidded to a stop.  He was dressed in a little white lab coat and boots.  His hands were encased in rubber gloves.  He wore a ridiculous-looking pair of glasses.  _This must be Dexter,_ Jack thought.

            The boy looked around the room.  He looked right at Jack, and the widening of his eyes was almost audible.

            Jack bowed to him.  "Excuse me, sir, am I to understand that this is…"

            "_DEEDEEYOUIDIOTLOOKWHATYOUDIDITOLDYOUNOTTOPLAYWITHTHEDIMENSIONALPORTALGENERATORGETOUTOFMYLABORATORY!_" Dexter shouted at his sister, who was attempting to look the very picture of innocence.

            Jack could hardly believe that such a small boy could have such a loud voice.  He realized that he had his hand on his sword hilt.  He removed it.

            "Hi Dexter!  This is Jack!  Jack, this is my nerdy brother Dexter."  DeeDee grinned radiantly.

            Dexter just glared at her.  Jack didn't know what to make of this.

            "Anyway, it's time for me to go to ballet class, so I'm going to go.  Bye Dexter!  Nice meeting you, Jack!"  DeeDee danced off, leaving the little boy and the samurai regarding each other warily.

            Dexter was the first to break the silence.  "So…umm…heh heh…you're Jack?"

            Jack nodded.

            "Is that…short for something?  You don't really _look_ like a Jack."

            Jack shook his head.  "No, but it is what I am called.  You are the one who built this?"  He indicated the machines and the lab with a sweep of his hand.

            Dexter smiled proudly.  "Yessir, indeed I did!  Isn't it great?"

            "Err…yes…" Jack agreed weakly.  With the way things were shaping up, he'd rather be back with the ninja robots.

            "I'm sorry about my stupid sister.  She's always messing with my things."  He looked at the broken machine.

            "Actually, your sister's actions got me out of a very bad situation.  I would, however, like to return.  I was on a quest," he explained.

            Dexter shrugged.  "I can do that.  I will need to fix the portal generator first, though.  It will take a while, but I should be done in a few hours."  He regarded Jack cautiously.  His eyes went to the katana at the warrior's side.  "Is that a real sword?"

            Jack was shocked by the question, but the boy seemed serious about it.  "Yes, it is."

            Silence.

            "Can I please see it?"  Dexter asked cautiously.

            Jack considered.  It was a bit stupid, but if he wanted to get out of here it would be best to humor his host.  He nodded and drew the katana from its scabbard, holding it up for Dexter to inspect.

            The boy inched closer, carefully, and looked at his own reflection in the polished steel blade.  His face broke into a smile.

            "Cool," he proclaimed.  Jack nodded and resheathed it.

~***~

            In his own lab, Mandark was putting the finishing touches on his latest creation.

            It was a twenty-foot-tall battle robot, vaguely humanoid, armed to the proverbial teeth with nasty devices.  On its chest was a black circle with a red "M" inscribed in it.

            "At last, it is finished!" Mandark announced to the world in general.  There was a crack of thunder – literary convention cannot be denied.

            Mandark rubbed his hands together.  "As soon as I activate it, it will destroy Dexter's laboratory and _I_ will be the greatest genius in the world!  Ah ha ha!  Ah ha ha ha ha!"

            His maniacal laughter echoed throughout the lab. 

~***~  
  


"Time travel? I've done that too," Dexter said as he adjusted a bolt with his wrench. "But I wouldn't do it again for a billion dollars."  
Jack saw a possibility here. "If you are capable of traveling in time…can you send me back to my time as well?"  
"Hmph. I wish," Dexter said. "But unfortunately I have not figured out how to travel in five dimensions at once." He grinned. "I'm working on it, though."  
What was he talking about? "Five dimensions at once?" Jack asked.

"Well," Dexter began, adjusting his glasses, "Conventional travel is four-dimensional. There are the three spatial dimensions – you know what those are, right?" Jack nodded. "Okay, good. And then there is time, the fourth dimension. Now, getting you back where you came from will require creating a temporary dimension so that you can cross over from my universe back into yours. The temporary dimension will take the place of time, see?"

"No," Jack said honestly. He felt he was in over his head."  
Dexter frowned. "Well, the short version is that I can do one or the other but not both." He shrugged apologetically. "Sorry."  
Jack sighed. "That is all right. Thank you anyway." At least he would be able to get back to the right _place_.  
Dexter crawled into an open panel in the side of the machine, then held out a hand. "Can you please pass me the multiphasic wave adjuster?"  
"Excuse me?"  
"The one with the…"  
"_Warning: Proximity alert. Proximity alert,_" an ambient female voice announced. Jack looked around wildly for the source of the voice.  
"_Ow!_" Dexter exclaimed as he banged his head on the way out of the panel. "Computer, put it on the screen," he said.  
A screen on the wall flickered to life. On it Jack could see a robot, a large one with a red "M" on its chest, stomping down a street, past rows of houses.  
"_Gaaah!_" Dexter exclaimed. "It's one of Mandark's robots! He's trying to destroy my lab again!" He pouted. "And I just had the floors waxed, too."  
Jack studied the robot on the screen. "Who is this Mandark?" he asked. Although the name really said it all.  
"The most evil, demented and sinister boy genius on the planet!" Dexter explained. Yes, in that case, the name was fitting. Jack would have to do something

about the robot, or he would be stuck in the wrong universe as well as the wrong time.

It was then that the robot broke entered the lab – through one of the walls. With a metallic fist it slammed a bank of screens, then stomped on a table laden with beakers of chemicals.

Jack narrowed his eyes and drew his sword. "I will take care of this," he said.

Dexter adjusted his glasses again as Jack charged at the robot. "I appreciate the offer, but it is impossible for a sword to…"

A panel in the robot's chest opened and a metallic tentacle whipped forth, trying to grab Jack. With a slash of his sword, he severed it. The end of the tentacle fell, twitching, to the floor.

Dexter blinked. "Ooookay. I stand corrected."

The robot seemed to be rather surprised as well. It paused, and Jack took the opportunity to leap at it and slash the tentacle again, near the source. Then the robot got its act together. It tried to swipe at him with a metal hand (which he ducked) and then attempted to stomp on him (which he dodged). He swung his sword and opened a gash in the robot's leg armor. Oil began to seep forth from it.

The robot turned and tried to kick Jack, but the samurai was too quick. He jumped onto the ascending foot, then leaped into the air and slashed the robot's chest, right across the big red "M," before landing on the ground again. Blue sparks crackled around the cut, and the robot backed away quickly.  
With a loud yell, Jack charged it, sword raised high. The bot tried to punch him and ended up losing its arm up to the elbow. Jack landed on the floor on the other side of the robot, then turned around to face it again, with his sword in the ready position.

The robot raised its other hand, but it wasn't trying to hit Jack this time. It opened its palm and a beam of red energy spat forth. Jack jumped barely in time, and the spot on the floor where he had been standing was scorched. The robot fired at him again as he somersaulted through the air, but it missed. Jack launched himself off something that looked like a large gun and managed to land on the robot's shoulders.

His balance wasn't very good, however, and the robot swatted him off. He flew into the wall, with his breath and sense knocked out of him. He saw the robot approaching him (actually, it looked like two very blurry robots) with its hand upraised and ready to strike…

"_Not so fast, you vile pile of scrap metal!_" The robot turned. Jack managed to focus his vision and saw…

Dexter was standing on top of a computer bank, in a black-and-white jumpsuit with a red "D" on it. He was holding some sort of gun in his hands. He pulled the trigger and, with an odd noise a yellow beam came out of the muzzle and hit the robot's chest. Jack couldn't see whether it caused any damage or not, but it didn't seem to – Dexter's eyes widened in consternation, and he froze in terror. The robot raised its hand, preparing to fire a shot of its own.

Jack got to his feet and rushed at the robot with a loud "_BANZAIIII!_" He slashed the back of its leg, severing its foot, then moved aside as the robot began to topple. It fell backwards, landing on the floor with a loud clang. Jack sprang onto its chest and drove the point of his katana into its square head.

There was the sound of electrical equipment going horribly wrong, a shower of red sparks, a cloud of smoke. The robot's arm, which had been raised, fell limp to the ground. Jack pulled his sword from the robot's face and sheathed it. He turned around to see Dexter running up to him.

The boy skidded to a stop and clambered up onto the robot's chest, so he stood facing Jack. He looked up at the warrior with a big smile and adoration in his eyes.

"That…was…so…_cool!_" he panted breathlessly.  
  
~***~

  
"Okay, it's done now," Dexter said as he tightened the last bolt into place. "If you will please stand on the platform?"  
Jack stepped onto the dais. He watched as Dexter began turning dials and pressing buttons. After a minute the boy looked up at him again.  
"Thanks again for saving my lab," he said.  
Jack smiled at him. "I could not have managed it if you had not distracted the robot," he replied. Dexter beamed proudly.  
"It was nice meeting you, Jack!" he waved. "I hope you find your way home some day."  
"It was nice meeting you too," Jack replied with a bow. He meant it – the boy may have been a little weird…no, _very_ weird, but he had a good heart. "Farewell."  
"Bye!" Dexter called. He pressed a button. There was a sudden white flash…  
  
…Jack was in the tower again. He drew his sword, but the ninja robots were nowhere to be seen. He looked around and found the stairway, then began to climb up it.  
  


~***~

  
"Where did Jack go?" DeeDee asked her brother. She looked at the damaged equipment, the hole in the wall and the fallen robot. "And what happened?"  
"I sent him home," Dexter answered, nodding at the dais of the portal generator. "And _that_ was Mandark again," he pointed to the robot.

DeeDee blinked. "So what happened?"

Dexter's eyes lit up enthusiastically. "Well, the robot came through the wall like _this._" He demonstrated, with appropriate sound effects "And then it shot a tentacle at him and he slashed it like _that!_" Dexter slashed with an imaginary sword. "Then he jumped on the robot, like _this!_" Dexter leaped onto the dais.

"And then he…DeeDee? Are you paying attention?"  
He looked around to see DeeDee staring at the control panel. She reached out a finger, slowly.  
"DeeDee! _Noooooo!_"  
There was a white flash…  
  
  


~The End~

Note:  Yes, this _is_ the end.  I am not planning to write a sequel, I just thought this would be a good Dexter-style ending to the episode.  Everyone thinks it's a setup for a sequel, but it isn't.  I just wanted to let you know.  
  



End file.
